There is something on my mind and today it is a book review of Protected: A Second Chance Baby Daddy Romance by Kelli Walker. This book was released today 6th May 2018.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and in exchange for an honest review.
Let’s start with the blurb for this book;
I’m being stalked like an animal, and my ex wants to protect me.
My life is crumbling at my feet, and all I can do is look over my shoulder.
Stopping.
Staring.
Fearing for my life.
Then, my ex comes knocking at my door.
Promising he can keep me safe.
With his thick muscles and his brooding stare and a body whose crevices call to mine.
The man who broke my heart wants to shield me from the man who broke my mind.
A man I married.
Trusted.
Divorced.
I can’t say no, but I want to.
I have to say ‘no’, but I can’t.
And when he injures himself keeping his vow, I can’t push him away.
I was being tracked and he never left me.
So I refuse to leave him.
I guess some things never change.
Alicia Whitley has been hiding from her abusive ex-husband Langley for a year, until he finds her. With help from her lawyer a protective security company is engaged to protect her, only the owner of the company is the man who broker her heart, her ex-boyfriend Ryder Smith.
Protected is the story of Alicia’s struggling with losing control of her life again to allow Ryder to protect her, and Ryder’s determination to protect her at all costs, and the stormy relationship that develops out of that.
Fed up with having her life controlled, Alicia struggles to let Ryder do his job and protect her, feeling that he is just another man trying to tell her what to do. This necessity to take back control of her life comes at a time where she is putting herself and Ryder in danger by doing so.
Ryder’s feelings for Alicia never left him and he risks everything to keep her safe, but when he is injured protecting her Alicia steps up and will not leave his side during his recovery.
I enjoyed this story, it was emotional, suspenseful, and the author takes the reader on the adventure with the characters to find each other again. Told from both points of view of the two main characters brings a greater level of emotional connection to both characters.
I did find it a little confronting in regards to the domestic violence aspect and this could be triggering to survivors of domestic violence.
When I read the blurb I thought this book sounded exciting, and it was but there were a few of things that detracted from the story for me;
These could contain **SPOILERS** so if you don’t like spoilers please don’t read any further, but it made a difference to my expectations for the book and my enjoyment of the outcome
First, having ‘baby daddy’ as part of the title of the book to me sets a certain expectation that there will be a pregnancy. I spent the whole book waiting for the pregnancy and was disappointed that it was only in the epilogue.
Second, it may be my interpretation but when I read this section of the blurb;
The man who broke my heart wants to shield me from the man who broke my mind. A man I married. Trusted. Divorced. I can’t say no, but I want to.
I read that as the ex who wanted to protect her was a previous husband not a high school boyfriend she hasn’t seen since she was 16 (about 15 years). I’m not sure why but that changed my perspective of the earlier relationship between Ryder and Alicia. I think it’s more how the blurb is written to set the expectation that is was a long term relationship and Ryder broke her trust before they divorced. (I’d like to know what you all think of this. Do you interpret it the same way as I do, or differently? Leave a comment and let me know)
Lastly, there were some inconsistencies with a secondary character, Alicia’s best friend Becca which caused a bit of confusion. Firstly, when talking about Alicia’s state of mind after the break up with Ryder in high school it states “I rebelled throughout my last two years of my high school career and had it not been for Becca, I never would’ve made it to college” giving the understanding Alicia and Becca were high school friends.
Later, Alicia states she met Becca her freshman year of college and when talking to Becca about Ryder, Becca asks his name. she and Alicia discuss it and Becca says “You’re my best friend and he hurt you. It doesn’t matter if we weren’t friends when he hurt you.” Both these points contradicting what was mentioned earlier in the book.
This is followed by another conversation a few chapters later where Alicia again explains to Becca she dated Ryder in high school and the conversation illudes to the fact Becca didnt know who Ryder was (again contradicting the previous point)
This did detract from the story somewhat because I had to keep going back and forth with chapters to check that what I thought I had read previously was actually what I’d read. It was confusing.
Because of these issues I gave it 3.5 stars, otherwise I would have given it 4.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would still recommend it to lovers of second chance romance. You can get the book at;
Amazon – only $0.99*
AmazonAU – AUD$1.32*
*prices correct at time of publishing
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Thanks for reading 💖
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© Karen Holman 2018
Something On My Mind 